1000 Gratitudes

A blogging friend of mine has, for as long as we've been blog friends (and that's quite a while, since I'm working on my fourth year of blogging), keeping a list of 1000 gratitudes. I think that it derived from a book, and it's a great idea. Write down 1000 things, over the course of a long while, that you are thankful for.

Another friend of mine posted a quick thought to her Facebook account. It read, "What if you were left with tomorrow the things you thanked God for today?" I guess I wouldn't be left with much.

Here it goes, I suppose.

1. Toilet paper (it seems weird, but really, I am very, very thankful for toilet paper).
2. Cool fall days.
3. My beautiful roommate, Amanda.
4. Laughing at jokes with friends.
5. The Crown and its staff.
6. Being able to read books, and own them, and enjoy them. It's such a wonderful blessing to experience share in the conversation of literature.
7. On the topic of books, curling up in my old, delapitated gold chair reading Charles Dickens or Douglas Adams.
8. The smell of coffee.
9. Waking up and finding sunlight streaming through the windows.
10. Driving lessons and beer conversations with Nick.
11. Starbucks and Chapters
12. The aroma of simmering bacon to start my day.
13. Strangely, I'm thankful for Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Vlogs, Youtube and all this other nonsensical social media we have today.

Now, a few photos to add. Most of them apply to the 77 Things list.

30 Items of Clothing to Donate.

Quilt!

Word of the Day: Gratitude

Quote of the Day: "If you have an accent, by definition, you're supposed to be interesting!"

Nail Polish: Week 4.

It's called 'Hot Blooded' and it makes me feel devious. Also, I realize I neglected to post last week's nail colour. It was a hot pink called 'Lavender Cream' by Sally Hansen. 

Currently, I am working on a paper for my Studies in Milton class. I'm writing about his view of Education as presented in his prose treatise. Milton is an interesting character in English Literature, living in the post-reformation, Stuart England. I'm also in a course on Tudor-Stuart England, and I find it helpful to have the background information leading up to Milton's time. I'm hoping to be able to use the two classes to come up with some pretty interesting final paper topics. 

And reading break can't come soon enough. I am incredibly behind. 

Thanks to my wonderful editorial staff, this month's issue of The Crown was pulled together without hinge. We had a few layout glitches, and the website wasn't working until the night of publication, but we managed to publish breaking news (Gadhafi's death), which, for a paper that publishes once per month, almost never happens. 

You can find the newest issue of The Crown here.

Word of the Day: Milton

Quote of the Day: "That banana is bruised, you abuse bananas." Kudzai

Back to the Future

One night.
All three Back to the Future movies.
Eating Chocolate Sprinkles by the spoonful. Yum.



Love that part.

Word of the Day: Dreamboat

Quote of the Day: "Great Scot!" Doc Brown.

Nail Polish: Week 2.

Because we had Family Thanksgiving today, and knowing how much Grandpa loves it when I have my nails painted funny colours (not), I decided to repaint my nails last night instead of tonight. I got a pretty raspberry purple from Walmart for about $2, and decided to try it out.

I like it. It's a good toe colour for the summer, and with this weather, I might get a chance to show it off with sandals yet!

On a side note, I love that I've been at University so long that seeing my younger cousins twice a year doesn't constitute them remembering a) I'm their cousin and b) my name.

Word of the Day: Food

Quote of the Day: Psalm 8

Number 23: Beginnings

So, this is me and my "quilt".

I'm going to make the entire thing by hand: no sewing machines. Ambitious, eh. My goal is to colour code each row of squares. I'll have all cool colours, all reds, all yellows/whites, alternating. So the next row will look more like this:

And hopefully when it is finished, I will have a twin-sized quilt. I would also like to note that most of these parts were sewn today while I watched 'Far and Away.' 

Word of the Day: Fabric

Quote of the Day: "You're a corker y'are, Shannon." Joseph Connelly in Far and Away. 

Why I love Redeemer

That right there is why I love Redeemer. What other university gives you encouragements on your coffee lids? See, I knew I had an addiction for a reason.

In other news, here is the first installment of my nail-polish challenge. Coincidently, none of the colours on my nails are my own. All of them belong to my dormmate, Jess.

The colours of the polka dots are orange, light green, and purple. The base is black, two coats (because it looked bad with just one).

Word of the Day: Drive

Quote of the Day: "Seriously."

Decade Dance, First Years and A Bucket List

"Seventy-Seven Things is a yearlong bucket-list. For those who play along, I promise no cosmic kick-backs or special blessings... but you might become a happier person with a little less stress. It's about being silly, accomplishing dreams, making new memories and ruffling your own feathers a bit."

Several of my friends had posted this little blurb on Facebook. I think it is cool. A bucket list of sorts for a year. Not only that, but it could make for a very interesting year of blogging. So, I'm going to up the requirements for this challenge. Not only do I need to complete everything on this list, but I need to blog about it, with pictures (preferably). This should get my creative juices flowing. Who knows, I might even get some good ideas for Editorials. 

1. Watch all three Back To The Future movies in one sitting (pee breaks allowed).

2. Read the Dirk Bently Omnibus by Douglas Adams

3. Get my full Driver's License (finally).

4. Apply to work in another country.

5. Play The Game of Life with my little sister. The right way, with Junior Monopoly peices and 18 different cars.

6. Memorize a poem, at least 12 lines long.

7. Create Calvin and Hobbes style snowmen.

8. Play poohsticks.

9. Have date-night each month with Cousin Kristin.

10. Read all of Paradise Lost by John Milton

11. Send an encouragement letter to someone I don't know.

12. Pull an all-nighter (even if it's homework related).

13. Bake oreo-peanut butter brownies and give all of them away.

14. See my best friend from childhood.

15. Prank another dorm.

16. Do a photoshoot with Laura D. 

17. Love someone I've never been able to connect with.

18. Paint my nails a different colour each week (52 different colours in all). 

19. Finish writing that story I started 2 years ago.

20. See downtown Hamilton in the wintertime, before Christmas.

21. Visit Mr. Steffler, my grade 12 English teacher, and thank him for teaching me.

22. Pray with a complete stranger.

23. Make a quilt.

24. Bake each first year dorm something yummy. 

25. Visit Brock one weekend and give my sister a big hug.

26. Learn a magic trick.

27. Read all the books Natalie Campbell suggests to me.

28. Spend a month replying (in written form) in poetry.
29. Find "Erkle-O's" and eat a bowl (major bonus points for this one). 
30. Buy something from Avon.
31. Learn to play "Never Underestimate my Jesus" on guitar.
32. Grow a flower from a seed.
33. Dry fall leaves in books.
34. Cook something new each month. 
35. Go for a walk in the first snow of the season.
36. Die my hair.
37. Spend a Saturday in Toronto doing nothing of any importance.
38. Keep a prayer journal.
39. Run.
40. Make a gingerbread house with my girls.
41. Climb a tall tree.
42. Go sledding.
43. Sleep under the stars.
44. Go fishing.
45. Go to the Irish Pub. Take Keeley. 
46. Take Laura D. out for her 19th birthday (as specified in brownie-making afternoon on Oct 2, 2011).
47. Climb the Dome (or let Colin, Derek and Craig do it). 
48. Sleep in a hammock.
49. Go puddlejumping in my rainboots.
50. Make a very elaborate cake.
51. Create a home-made kite.
52. Fly it. 
53. Go to Strathroy's Turkey Festival.
54. Make a Jack-O-Lantern.
55. Read the entire Bible.
56.  Make Christmas cookies not around Christmas.
57. Do a crazy Hamilton bus trip tour using my student card. 
58. Learn to juggle.
59. Read every Charles Dickens novel (except Tale of Two Cities since I've read that already).
60. Sit on a statue.
61. Watch a sunrise with a friend.
62. Donate 30 items of clothing.
63. Make a list (progressively) of 1000 Gratitudes.
64. Incorporate a new word into my vocabulary.
65. Graduate with my (hard-earned) B.A.
66. Play cards with Uncle Joe at Christmas (like old times).
67. See Melissa Greenfield. Some way, some how.
68. Go skating on an outdoor pond with Maria.
69. Go somewhere interesting during Reading Break, even if it is just for a couple hours.
70. Trip to Niagara Falls, just because I think this should be done at least once a year.
71. Have a garage sale.
72. Knit/crochet an afghan.
73. On the topic of knitting, learn how to make Grandma slippers.
74. Make jam.
75. Become an organ donor.
76. Road-trip with Becky Kinsman (to nowhere in particular).
77. Do a handstand. 


Word of the Day: Brilliant


Quote of the Day: "It's not a health kick, it's more like a add a few more years onto my life kinda thing...uh...kick." Amanda

Amanda and I in our second year RAing. I am so thankful for her.

Our dorm. Beautiful girls.